Division of Enrollment Management

We Transform Lives

We are committed to creating welcoming environments of intentional first-class experience that provide excellent service, top-tier resources, and limitless inspiration through collaborative partnerships.

Our Division Teams

Our divisional staff members work together in support of our mission by serving on a division team, organized around the following core areas:

  • Divisional Goals and Strategic Planning Team
    • Conduct a mission statement workshop.
    • Coordinate IE alignment and reporting.
  • Lions Lead Team
    • Organize and plan the annual Lions Lead, an award and recognition program for our Division.
  • Lionheart Champions
    • Implement ideas and plan activities that promote a culture of kindness for our Division.
    • Nominate and install a Divisional “Poet Laureate.”
    • Plan social bonding activities for the Division, one per quarter.
    • Create a welcome “onboarding” program for new EM employees.

Divisional Tools and Resources

The Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education (CAS) has been the pre-eminent force for promoting standards in student affairs, student services, and student development programs since its inception in 1979. CAS standards create the opportunity for functional areas to demonstrate contributions to the public good, including student learning, development, and success.

  • Fall 2024: The Office of Financial and Scholarships will recommence work on an assessment via the Standards and Guidelines developed by the Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education (CAS). Standards are developed through a consensus model of member associations and industry experts. Our planned use of CAS will include an Internal program & external program review for the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships and will help inform the following:
    • Provide a foundation for process and operational improvements
    • Development of our mission, goals, and strategic plan for the department
    • Staff professional development and training
    • Excellence in student support and services
    • Benchmark against national standards

Cloverleaf personalizes professional development through personality tests like the Enneagram, 16 Types, DISC, Energy Rhythm Surveys, and Strengths Finder. Through automated coaching tools through email, calendar, and messaging apps, our use of Cloverleaf will support our Division by:

  • Increasing engagement: Encouraging employees to bring their whole selves to work.
  • Maximizing talent: Uncovering hidden employee strengths and potential.
  • Building trust: Helping our team builds empathy and confidence.

Enrollment Management :: Welcome

We TRANSFORM LIVES

The Division of Enrollment Management supports the institutional strategic plan by aligning our vision, goals and strategies to the strategic priorities and goals of the university. We have one shared vision:

As a premier institution of higher education in East Texas, we are a student-ready university. We lead in social mobility, achieving academic excellence in a wide range of traditional and interdisciplinary programs and serve as a national leader in the advancement of competency-based education. We further knowledge through impactful research and creative activity that benefits the region we serve and beyond. Recognized nationally for our innovative spirit and unique rural-urban identity, we promote an environment where all are valued, providing access and opportunities to ensure student success, career preparedness, and professional development for all members of the university community. 

  • Ensure Student Preparedness
  • Elevate Research
  • Create a Welcoming Community
  • Align Initiatives with a University’s Rural-Urban Identity
  • Modernize University Operations and Business Practices

Our departments include the Offices of Undergraduate Admissions, Registrar, Financial Aid and Scholarships, Veterans and Military Services, and New Student and Family Programs.

PURPOSE OF

As the second-largest member of the Texas A&M University System, East Texas A&M offers more than 130 degree programs and serves more than 11,000 students in the northeast region of Texas. With the recent pandemic, educational delivery and expectations have shifted, all the while, the demographics of college-going students and the positioning of competitors continues to evolve. East Texas A&M has not been immune to the impacts of the pandemic. We want to take this historic moment to build a foundational plan to address enrollment and retention declines, align the East Texas A&M enrollment plan with the Systems enrollment goals, and set forth the accountability and governance structures necessary to ensure success.

SEM can be characterized as “a comprehensive process designed to help an institution achieve and maintain the optimum recruitment, retention and graduation rates of students, where optimum is defined in the academic context of the institution”(Dolence, 1993).

WHY SEM

Strategic Enrollment Management is a comprehensive approach to integrating all of the University’s programs, practices, policies, and planning related to achieving the optimal recruitment, retention, and graduation of students with “optimal” defined by the mission, academic vision, and strategic plan of the institution. Enrollment Management becomes Strategic Enrollment Management when it actively integrates planning, strategies, and structures in the formal enrollment management units with the institution’s evolving strategic planning, its academic vision, and its fundamental mission.

Strategic Enrollment Management does not ignore short‐term activities. Instead, it integrates short‐term administrative efforts with long‐term planning processes. These administrative efforts include a focus on the management of those functional areas responsible for achieving enrollment goals. As a planning process, Strategic Enrollment Management focuses on the outward‐ and forward‐looking activities that guide the institution’s pursuit of its preferred future in a constantly changing and competitive environment and includes long-range planning and institution‐wide strategy development.

ALL INSTITUTIONAL SEM ACTIVITIES:

  • All SEM activities are mission-driven.
  • SEM develops an institutional culture of student success.
  • SEM is synonymous with student success and is integrated into the institution’s strategic plan.
  • SEM involves all internal and external constituents.
  • External partnerships are critical.
  • Everything is assessed and measured so decisions are data-driven.
  • Clear enrollment goals are established based on institutional capacity and the institution’s strategic plan, and not simply on the student profile or revenue generation.
  • Appropriate academic programs are maintained that will prepare students for the careers of the future while sustaining mission-appropriate offerings.
  • Creative thinking and looking outside of higher education for best practices are necessary.
  • Focus on the appropriate utilization of technology to enhance service to students is encouraged.

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Contact the division

Nechell Bonds, M.Ed Vice President of Enrollment Management
Shirl Lee Executive Assistant For Enrollment Management
Alum Karina Perez Administrative Coordinator II
Alum Swagata Kundu SIS Senior Business Analyst
Jordan Stevenson Assistant Vice President, Enrollment Management
Alum Paige Bussell University Registrar
Alum Renee Walker Director of Financial Aid

Contact Us

  • P.O. Box 3011
  • Commerce, TX 75429-3011
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